Whitworth, Whitman women join forces for 3rd-year tourney

The Whitworth women’s basketball team is joining with the Whitman Missionaries to host the four-team Whit-Quality Inn Classic starting tonight at Whitworth’s Fieldhouse.

The tournament, in its third year, features the two host schools along with UC Santa Cruz (3-9) and Cal State University East Bay (8-1 and ranked 12th in the NAIA Division II).

Whitman (2-6) opens the tournament tonight against CSU-East Bay at 6, with Whitworth (4-4) and UCSC meeting at 8. Whitman and Whitworth trade opponents Friday, with the Pirates keeping the later time.

Whitworth has lost starting forward Alida Bower for the season to a knee injury. The 5-foot-9-inch sophomore from Onalaska, Wash., had started all eight games and was averaging 11 points.

The Whitworth men, coming off a 2-0 performance in the St. Vincent de Paul Invite, which they hosted in Burlingame, Calif., will travel back south for a pair of tournaments. The first starts tonight in Thousand Oaks, Calif., at the Cal Lutheran Thrivent Financial Tournament.

The Pirates (6-2) face Nebraska Wesleyan University (5-4) in tonight’s opener and will meet either Luther College of Iowa (5-3) or Cal Lutheran (3-5) on Friday.

West Valley High product Lance Pecht leads the Pirates at 17.9 points per game, but Whitworth has five players averaging in double figures.